British Members of Parliament pass resolution in support of Democracy in Cuba
By Cuban Democratic Directorate

LONDON -- The British Parliament is circulating a resolution, which has been backed by more than 75 British MPs, in support of Cuban political prisoners and democracy in Cuba, announced the Directorio this past Oct. 23rd, 2003.

LONDON -- The British Parliament is circulating a resolution, which has been backed by more than 75 British MPs, in support of Cuban political prisoners and democracy in Cuba, announced the Directorio this past Oct. 23rd, 2003. The resolution, which censures the Cuban government for its human rights violations, reflects the European Union’s new policy towards Cuba on the heels of the March 18th crackdown by the Cuban regime on more than 70 dissidents.
The “Early Day Motion,” as this type of resolution is known in the British Parliament, specifically mentions the cases of prisoners of conscience Juan Carlos Gonzalez Leiva, Jorge Luis Garcia Perez, and Oscar Elias Biscet. The motion calls on the Cuban government to provide medical assistance to all political prisoners, not to deny this type of assistance as a means of punishment, and to allow the Red Cross full access to Cuban prisons. The motion also demands that the Cuban government allow peaceful protests for human rights and pro-democracy issues and that it release those arrested for carrying them out. It insists that the Cuban government not pressure the family members of those imprisoned. The motion concludes by calling on the British government to make these issues a priority in its bilateral relations with the Cuban government.
The motion was presented thanks to information support provided by Christian Solidarity Worldwide.
(Please see motion below.)

EDM 1004
DETENTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISTS IN CUBA 02.04.03

75 signatures

That this House notes that the Cuban Government continues to hold several hundred political prisoners, whose offences include pro-democracy activism and speaking out against Government policies on issues such as abortion and treatment of the blind; further notes that among the most prominent cases are human rights activists Dr Oscar Biscet, Juan Carlos Gonzalez Leiva and Jorge Garcia Perez, all three of whom were arrested after peaceful protests; expresses strong concern that all three of these prisoners have, at various times, been denied medical treatment, resulting in severe ill-health; expresses further strong concern that Mr Gonzalez Leiva was badly beaten by security agents during his arrest, and that Mr Garcia Perez has been given repeated severe beatings whilst in prison; is also concerned that the families of each prisoner have reported harassment and threats from the authorities; notes also that in mid-March the Cuban Government orchestrated a massive round-up of human rights and pro-democracy activists, arresting over 75 dissidents; calls upon the Cuban Government to allow full medical treatment to all prisoners, to desist from withholding medical treatment as punishment, and to allow the Red Cross access to its prisons; further calls upon the Cuban Government to allow peaceful protest on human rights and pro-democracy issues, to release all those held for such activities, and to cease from applying pressure on them or their families; and urges Her Majesty's Government to place these issues at the core of bilateral talks with Cuba.

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Directorio Democrático Cubano
P.O. Box 110235
Hialeah, Florida 33011
Tel. 305-220-2713
info@directorio.org

In Memory of Mario Manuel de la Peña